January Entertainment

Happy February! Even though January went by like the blink of an eye, I for one am SO beyond excited for this month! I wanted to close off January with a post about all the things that kept me entertained. In this post I cover the movies I saw, books I read and songs I loved this month. I hope you enjoy!

Movies:

1917

Most recently, a few friends and I went to see 1917. I had previously watched the Golden Globes, where 1917 took home the award for Best Motion Picture Drama, so 1917 was on my must-see list. I had heard that in addition to telling an amazing story, this movie was beautifully directed and captured. Before heading to the movie theatre, I watched tons of YouTube videos about the creation of this film. You should know that this World War I film focuses on two men and two hours as they set out to deliver a warning to troops ahead. The action is captured in a one-shot sequence. In order to do this, the actors had to run their lines for months, even practicing while walking across flat land, before the set and trenches could be built to fit the scenes. The cinematography is absolutely STUNNING. The entire movie grabbed my attention from the beginning and never let me go. When the screen went dark at the end, I had no words. Although a work of fiction, 1917 is grounded in truth and therefore gave me a greater understanding of WWI. I would HIGHLY recommend seeing this beautiful film.

Just Mercy

Just Mercy is another movie that you HAVE to see. I had some knowledge of this movie from the book of the same name by lawyer Bryan Stevenson (who is the main character in this film) and the trailers confirmed that I needed to purchase a ticket. The movie focuses in on one of the stories told in Stevenson's book. Michael B. Jordan plays a young Bryan Stevenson determined to defend wrongly condemned men on death row in Alabama. One of his first cases is with Walter McMillian who has been found guilty of killing an 18-year-old woman despite an overwhelming lack of evidence and is sentenced to die. Warning: this movie WILL make you cry. There are many scenes that are difficult to watch, but the message is incredibly important. This movie will leave you frustrated with society but empowered to fight for change.

Little Women

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it! But I’m so lonely!” - Jo March

The quote above was my absolute favorite quote from the new Little Women movie. The essence of this quote is so empowering and raw. I remember sitting on my parents' bed before going to sleep as a kid and reading the Little Women book with my mom. That was a long time ago, so I was so excited to be reminded of the story with this new film. Greta Gerwig beautifully adapted the novel to screenplay and also directed the film in such an innovative way. Additionally, the cast is star studded with Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Emma Watson as Meg, Florence Pugh as Amy, Laura Dern as Marmee, Meryl Streep as Aunt March and Timothée Chalamet as Laurie. Watching this movie with my mom and sister was joyful, sad, funny, heartwarming and so much more. You should definitely add Little Women to your to-see list!

Books:

Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns series)

This past summer I read the fourth book in the Three Dark Crowns series as my dad and I drove to New York City. I was already hooked on the series so I was so excited to figure out what happened next. I didn't know how many books were set to be in the series, so part of me thought the fourth book was the final one. As I was reading and getting closer and closer to the end, I realized there was still so much conflict and there weren't enough pages left for it all to be resolved. Frantically I did a Google search and sadly found out that the next and final book wouldn't be published until September. Well, I managed to hold off until Christmas when I received this book as a gift and then, I read it SO FAST! This fantasy series takes place on the island of Fennbirn where every generation a set of triplet queens, each with a unique gift, are born. On the night of their sixteenth birthday, a battle begins. The last queen standing becomes the Queen Crowned. If you're interested in reading this series, start with the book Three Dark Crowns and have all the other books ready because you'll want to start the next immediately after you finish reading it!

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

I don't remember how I found this book, but this is another one I asked for as a Christmas gift. I Owe You One is a charming romantic comedy standalone about Fixie Farr, a young woman with an extremely complicated family, a former crush and an IOW scribbled on a coffee sleeve. I was able to read through this book fairly quickly as well, there's just something about romance novels! This book is a fun and easy one if you're looking for some relaxation.

Music:

I am already excited for the movies, books and music that will keep me entertained in February. I hope this post gave you some things to add to your to-see/read/listen list! Have a great first day of the month and see you again soon!

#LIFESTYLE